


Josie All Over

by Krayolacolor



Series: Marble Roses [8]
Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Marble Hornets
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Sex, Loss, Past Character Death, Smoking, Starvation, The Beach Episode, Trauma, Vague nudity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:27:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29576112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krayolacolor/pseuds/Krayolacolor
Summary: "What the fuck do you want?" Hissed that familiar nasal toned voice."We're going to the beach." Offender said, searching around for what closet he put his suitcase in."What? I'm busy," The man tried."Not any more, now pack a bag, and tell your friends okay? I'm taking you guys with me, and we're going to my house down in California."Note: This work is only tagged with "rape/noncon" due to the nature of the Offenderman as a character, nothing in this story or the series as a whole will have any graphic depictions of rape. At most, it is implied to happen off screen.
Relationships: Sexual Offenderman/Original Female Character(s), Timothy "Tim" W. | Masky & Sexual Offenderman
Series: Marble Roses [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2172543
Comments: 4
Kudos: 3





	Josie All Over

The monster was laying in bed next to a woman. She was absolutely radiant, her sleeping form turned towards him, the morning sun washing over the sheets, her short black hair like a dark halo around her head. He purred quietly, just watching her breathe deeply, watching how the sun made the freckles on her cheeks glow. He smiled softly, reaching out to brush a stray lock of hair from her forehead.

The woman leaned into the touch and slowly blinked open her soft green eyes. She smiled at the monster, reaching up to rub her eyes, "Good morning," she murmured.

"Good morning darling," the man rubbed his thumb over her cheek, his hand easily larger than her entire skull, but his touch was gentle. "Are you hungry?"

"Not really," she pushed herself up from the bed, stretching her arms up and arching her back. The monster drew his gaze over her form without any shame. "I want to go swimming." The woman offered instead.

"Well, if you do insist I'm sure we could manage to make our way down to the beach if," he started as he sat up and leaned closer.

"If what?" The young woman looked at him with a raised brow.

The monster grinned wolfishly, showing off his mouth full of shark teeth, "If I can keep my hands off you long enough!" He pounced on the woman pushing her back into the bed, leering over her.

She squealed and laughed at him, entirely unafraid despite the fact he was easily three times her size. "Offender! Get off!" She giggled, pushing at him playfully. She reached up and put her small hands on his face and leaned up to press a kiss to place his nose might have been had he had one.

Offender purred at her like a mountainously oversized cat, leaning over her and pressing their foreheads together. "Can't we just stay like this forever, my darling?"

The woman smiled at him softly, the sunlight reflecting in her eyes making them sparking emerald, "Maybe when we dream again…" She said gently.

The monster laughed, "What do you mean? We just woke up."

She brought her hand up again to gently trace the edges of his features, "You know what happened… You know I'm not really here. You know,"

He cut her off by kissing her softly, holding onto her tighter, "Let me pretend a little longer… let me feel real for another moment…" he begged softly, hardly speaking. "We can go to the beach…"

The woman smiled, her eyes filled with fondness, "Of course we can."

~~~

Offender woke up alone, the feeling of the sun on his skin fading away as reality seemed to solidify. He reached over to the space beside him, it was cold, it had been for many years now. He sighed, knowing the taste on his tongue was only his imagination playing tricks on him, and not the sun kissed skin of his former lover. He gripped the sheets tightly knowing it was his fault he was alone now.

Still, he threw off the covers and got out of bed, grabbing his coat and his hat and sat in the chair at his desk to lace his boots.

He was yearning once more for a companion and he was thinking about the little beach house that sat empty down in California. He pat down his pockets to find his phone and scrolled through his contacts, then he pressed call as he left the bedroom.

The line rang for a moment, then two, then three, and then went to the automated voice mail. He called again. It rang once, twice.

"What the fuck do you want?" Hissed that familiar nasal toned voice.

"We're going to the beach." Offender said, searching around for what closet he put his suitcase in.

"What? I'm busy," The man tried.

"Not any more, now pack a bag, and tell your friends okay? I'm taking you guys with me, and we're going to my house down in Cali."

The man sighed and Offender could see him pinching the bridge of his nose as he accepted he couldn't argue, "Fine, when are you going to be here?"

"Um… I'll get you guys at three, give me some time to stop in and make sure the rooms are clean and the power is on, food in the fridge and that shit."

"Okay, how long are we staying?"

"The weekend."

"Alright, I'll see you at three."

Offender opened his mouth to say goodbye, but the man hung up before he could. The monster pocketed his phone, and brought his suitcase back to his room, throwing in his extra coat, another pair of boots, a few nice to read on the beach type books, towels, and very begrudgingly a pair of swim shorts which he doubted that he had ever or would ever wear.

He disappeared from his home and reappeared in a place he hadn't visited in years, not since before Josephine had died. Rosa hadn't even been born yet the last time he was in this house. But he dropped off his things in the bedroom, checked the lights, turned on the water, and changed the sheets in every room. He pushed open the sliding glass door that led to the cove behind the house. He stood there for a moment, in the doorway, breathing in the cool breeze from the ocean. It felt like time was frozen here, nothing had changed at all. Everything was exactly as it had been the last time he was here with her.

He stepped off the little porch and onto the walk that led down to the sand, it was a fairly remote location, and the property was fenced in, but he should check those later to be sure the wires weren't cut. He walked down the stone steps that actually went to the cove, and finally stepped onto the sand. It was warm, the sun barely a whisper on the horizon, if he tried he was sure he could see her ghost in the dark, standing in the calm waves, begging him to walk into the water and drown…

The monster picked up a few old bottles and bits of trash which he dropped off at the house and then went to get food, going through a list of things he knew the boys liked, things that were local, and a few extra things just for fun. He picked up some detergent to wash the sheets and towels and bought more towels. He bought a fancy wine and some cheap beer, marshmallows and fire wood, new cups and extra plates. He'd spent several hundred dollars by the time he returned to the beach house, but it's not like the money mattered to him. 

He shot Tim a text to make sure everyone was packing, and to see if they'd like a late lunch. Tim got back to him in a few minutes saying he was still badgering Brian about it, but both Jay and Alex confirmed that they would go. He assured the monster that a late lunch would be fine, and Offender promised to make something good.

Offender did the prepwork for lunch with the radio turned down low, listening to a random "oldies" station and humming along to songs he didn't know. It reminded him of lazy days and dazed nights spent dancing and making love to the woman he felt so lost without. He leaned back against the counter, running his fingers over polished marble, imagining her sitting there and stealing food before it was finished, laughing when he told her to stop. He imagined her sitting there messy hair, blushed red, and beautiful. She was always so beautiful…

His phone pinged as he was finishing up cleaning the mess he made cooking and he picked it up to see it was time for him to leave. He pocketed his phone and wondered if the ghosts might give him peace when he wasn't alone.

~~~

When Offender appeared in Tim and Brian's apartment the rest of the boys were already there. Jay was perched on the arm of the couch laughing about something or another in a tank top and cargo shorts. Alex had his head in his hands and was wearing a loose fitting t-shirt and shorts. Brian was sitting on the coffee table with his legs propped up on a suitcase wearing a shirt that Offender recognised as belonging to Tim and knee pants.

Tim was standing just to the side of the group between the couch and coffee table, he was wearing a rose patterned shirt, by the fit alone Offender knew he was the one who bought it. It made his insides twist in that pleasant way that being reminded of his claim over the man often did. Tim was also wearing shorts of an average length.

After Offender had spent a few moments appreciating his boys he cleared his throat, making all of them jump and turn around to look at him. "You boys ready to head out?"

Brian scoffed at him, but there wasn't any real argument as everyone grabbed their bags.

"Okay, everyone knows, close your eyes, or puke your guts up, right?" He asked as he sat his hands on Tim's shoulders and grabbed onto the others with the tendrils on his back.

"I know,"

"Got it,"

"Mhmm,"

"Don't remind me of that please-"

Offender snorted, "M'kay, hold onto your shit and don't leave any organs behind, I hope you all remembered to use the bathroom because I haven't moved this many people so far in years!"

Jay gripped onto his things tighter, "Wait can I just-"

Then he was cut off by the static and weightlessness of teleportation.

The group reappeared in front of the house, all of the boys in front of Offender, no major organs lost. It only took a moment for Tim to open his eyes and a second longer for Alex to, as they had teleported more than Jay and Brian. They took in the house, which was a large vacation home that Offender purchased and renovated ages and ages ago. Slowly they all found their legs again and stepped closer, and once everyone could move he led them up the walk and opened the door for them.

They carried their things around as they explored the house, Offender let them check the place out and claim their bedrooms. While they did that, Offender went to the kitchen to set the table and wait for everyone to join him. It didn't take too long, Jay poked his head in first, looking around at the nice dining area and stepping in to sit at the table. Tim came in dragging Brian and Alex wasn't far behind them. The monster was well behaved while they ate, being quiet as not to disturb the boys. It was only the first hour, he had several days to pester them.

After eating, Offender offered to show them the beach, and he led the little ducklings through the back door and down to the cove.

Jay was the boldest it seemed, as he grabbed the back of his shirt and chucked it onto the sand, throwing his phone down next, and dashing for the waves, Alex chasing after him to try and make him act like an adult. Offender watched them, Alex tossing his phone back where Jay dropped his and then getting tackled into the water. He watched them until he received an elbow to his side.

"Stop being creepy," Tim hissed up at him.

"'M not being "creepy", I'm just standing here." Offender huffed, looking down at Tim.

Tim raised an eyebrow at him, "I think I have an idea of what your 'I'm being creepy,' look is."

Offender shook his head and pushed both Tim and Brian towards the water, "I'll keep all my creepy right here, promise, now go have fun."

Brian glared at him, but after Tim gave him a once over the man sighed, and eventually all four of them ended up in the water. They were smiling too.

~~~

Offender popped up out of the water and grabbed the squealing form holding them up above his head as they squirmed and flailed their arms. He laughed until he got a mouth full of water.

"Serves you right!" The woman laughed as he carefully put her down again.

"I will get you for that!" He flashed his teeth, and faked a lunge at her, making her squeal and laugh and fall back into the water.

They played around a while longer, until eventually Offender was just floating on his back in the water and the woman was sitting on his chest as if he were a raft.

"How are you so floaty? You weigh like 400 pounds." She asked, kicking her feet in the water under them.

Offender shrugged, "Buoyancy physics?" He suggested, reaching up to touch her face softly. "How are you so beautiful?" He asked.

She snorted, batting his hand away, "I don't know what you're talking about, I look like a mess right now, my hair is filled with salt water."

"And yet, you're absolutely stunning," he praised, grin wide and telling.

"You'd say that to anyone sitting on top of you," She retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

The monster shrugged, "Maybe, but now I'm saying it to you, I think you're gorgeous. You're stunning and perfect and lovely and absolutely maddening to look at, I think I might just lose my mind thinking about you."

The woman blushed and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, "Stop it- you never compliment me so much unless you want something."

"I don't want anything." He said, softly, "I am perfectly content here, with you. I could stay here forever…"

A giggle bubbled up from her soft lips, "That was so sappy- I can't believe you said that!"

Offender blushed grey across his face and suddenly pushed the girl back into the water, making her squeak, but she kept laughing. "Stop laughing- I meant it-" Offender hissed.

She smiled, "Of course you did, you always do… You never seem to know when to stop do you?"

"What?"

"Don't worry, it stops soon." The woman says, walking back to the shore, "What are you making for dinner?"

Offender stared after her, at the water dripping down her back, why was it always red?

"I hadn't thought about dinner, what do you want?"

"Anything you're starving for."

The monster smiled, "My darling, the only thing I'm ever starving for is you." He scooped her up, appearing behind her and started walking back towards the house. She only laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing the corner of his jaw.

"I don't think you'll ever be satisfied..."

~~~

Offender thought about trying to play with the boys, not in a weird way, just it was warm and the water would be nice, but he decided against it. He also decided to stop just standing there and staring, though he had no idea how long he had been standing here staring in the vague direction of the others. It was unlikely any of them would drown if he went to put lunch away and wash the dishes, so he turned around and walked back up the steps. Tim sorta asked where he was going so he sorta thought about doing the dishes until Tim's thoughts returned to the water and his friends. Offender turned on the radio again, looking out the window he could see the four down in the cove they moved out of the water and onto the beach, he wondered if they might get sunburned.

He didn't feel as much like a voyeur from up here, now that he had something to do with his hands. He never did like being idle, his mind too busy to just exist like others could. He preferred to be doing something, it was far less likely he'd do something distasteful if his hands were occupied with something already. It was only a matter of time before his mind wandered away from the boys on the cove, back to his thoughts from before.

Josephine.

The monster wasn't sure exactly why he was thinking so much of her, he didn't know what had sparked his obsessive thoughts to spin circles around his lost Proxy. It wasn't that time yet, as he knew far too well when that happened and when the depression kicked in it was all consuming. This was definitely not that, it was something different. Was he really that lonely with all these people still? He didn't mind that he wasn't their favorite person, he wasn't most people's, but compared to what he'd had before he knew he couldn't replicate it.

Well, he could have, but it was far too late for that, he already knew he'd ruined his time with this Proxy, he did that ages ago, he'd have to try again next time if he wanted a Proxy who liked him.

He sighed, looking down at his hands, he ruined everything he touched. But it didn't matter. The world was made of broken things, everyone was broken, he just hasn't found the person who's broken pieces don't become more broken by his.

Offender looked back to the cove as he put things away, drying the plates and pans, but the boys weren't there. Stress signals flooded his body for several moments before the back door slid open, he turned around in time for all the boys to tumble in, soaking wet and laughing, carrying their electronics in Jay's shirt.

"I can't believe I swallowed so much salt water," Alex groaned.

"Learn to keep your mouth shut." Tim snorted and got smacked.

Offender smiled, "I'm guessing you boys had fun?"

The four look up at him, as if they had forgotten he was even here. Their faces were reddened on their cheeks and foreheads, and Jay's shoulders were pink, he should have reminded them to put on sunscreen.

Jay was the first to speak up, "Yeah, I haven't had so much fun in ages." Slowly the others agreed, giving sheepish smiles.

Offender nodded, gesturing to the towels he'd gotten out for them, "I'm glad, now stop dripping all over my floor."

"Oops…" Alex muttered, as the boys semi-dried off so that they could walk through the house without dripping water and sand everywhere. Then they all went to wash off and change.

The monster took his boys into town that evening, showing them around, letting them get the feel of the place. Brian mostly just glared at him the whole time, but he never said anything out loud and Offender made extra sure that he kept his hands firmly to himself, as not to give him any reason to start a fight. Tim stayed close to Brian and held his hand, and just generally took his attention off of the monster, which was nice. Alex was actually rather talkative, in the form of demanding Offender give him money every time they went into a shop so he could buy something for Amy, and well, who was Offender to refuse him anything? Jay was content to taking photos on an older Polaroid camera that Offender had gifted him, so he was quiet and entertained while they explored. All in all, the monster had a nice time with his boys. It felt very freeing, as if by escaping Rosewood they left behind a lot of their negative feelings towards each other.

They stopped at a little ice cream shop before heading back to the house, everyone got a different flavor.

As the night wound down Offender offered his extensive collection of streaming services to let the group decide on a movie. After some arguing and some debate they ended up watching something randomly selected from a bunch of options they put into Offender's hat. They all settled onto the couch or the plush rug, ate popcorn, and mostly talked over the movie. Offender mostly stayed out of the conversation, letting the boys enjoy their time together, he was merely the benefactor and didn't want to get too involved until they had really settled in. But by the time the movie was over Offender ended up carrying everyone to bed except for Tim.

"You're being awfully quiet." Tim commented standing in the hall as Offender set Jay on his chosen bed, both Alex and Brian already in theirs.

Offender shrugged, "You were having fun, I didn't want to bother anyone."

"You've been unusually nice," Tim pointed out.

"I can be nice when I want to."

Tim was quiet for a moment, "So what's your game?"

"My game?"

"What do you want?" 

"I don't want anything," The monster said as he imagined how easily he could shove the man against the wall and ravage him and no one else would know.

"You always want something," Tim interrupted his thoughts, looking mildly annoyed with him.

Offender just looked down at Tim for a second, he looked so much older than Josephine did at his age, he assumed that was at least partially his fault. He very slowly reached over, he didn't miss the slight flinch, but the man didn't pull away as he set his hand on the side of his face. "I think the more proper response is that I am not asking you for anything… Okay?"

Tim looked up at the monster carefully, leaning into his touch for just a moment. "I hate you." He whispered, pulling his face away.

"I know."

"Don't think this is progress or anything." Tim warned him.

"I won't."

But Tim still let him walk him back to his room with Brian, with his hand between his shoulder blades.

"Goodnight." Offender said as he let go and walked down the hall to his bedroom, alone.

~~~

Offender did not like lonely beds, he found them hard to sleep in, so after a few hours of staring at the ceiling he got up again. He pulled on his coat and peaked into the boys rooms to make sure they were all asleep, then he put on his boots and went outside. He thought about wandering the beach, but he'd spent his day being very well behaved so he thought he deserved a few drinks.

He could still be good while a little tipsy. 

In hindsight, he probably should have known that as an alcoholic he would have more than a few drinks, dance with more than a few people, and wake up with a raging hangover. He also wasn't in his house. Where was he?

Didn't matter. He had to go back to the house and make breakfast before any of the boys knew he left last night or he'd be in so much trouble. He appeared back in his room, coat open, boots in hand, pounding headache. He looked through the nightstand for any pain medication and did some very slow mental math to calculate the dose to his size and ended up taking about five. Not like it would kill him anyway. Once that was settled he went to the kitchen to make coffee, but Alex was already sitting on the counter with a cup.

"I was wondering when you'd get up," he mused.

"Why do you care?"

Alex gave him a look, "I lived with you for like 3 years. And I'm not stupid. You did nothing all day yesterday, I know you went out last night."

Offender winced, guiltily hunching his shoulders, "You're going to tell on me, aren't you?"

"What are you, five?" Alex snorted. "No, I'm not 'telling on you', I couldn't care less what you do as long as it isn't around me." The monster relaxed slightly. "And you better make me french toast, I'm starving."

"Like I haven't done enough for you already," Offender shook his head, walking past Alex to get his own cup of coffee before he looked through the pantry and the fridge for things he'd need for breakfast.

Alex shrugged, "I mean, you kinda enslaved me via forced addiction for numerous years of my life, ruined my college experience, and repeatedly exposed me to traumatic experiences for your personal entertainment."

"Well when you say it like that," Offender huffed, downing a cup of coffee. 

The man on the counter shrugged, and it was quiet between them as Offender cooked and they waited for the others to get up.

The next one up was Brian, followed closely Tim, after breakfast was finished Jay dragged himself from bed and to the table.

Breakfast was pleasant, no yelling, no arguing, only a handful of glares. Offender managed to partake in conversation this time, he had to admit that just talking to the boys made him feel like he was making progress with them. It wasn't any secret they didn't like him, but he was working on at least tolerance. Any progress was good enough for him, even if it was only contained within this weekend, it was better than nothing.

~~~

Offender had always been haunted by ghosts. Not real ghosts, just things he was afraid of. Like being alone, abandonment had always been something that terrified him. It was fitting that his curse was loneliness.

He knew that he hurt people, don't think he didn't, he knew very well that his loneliness stemmed from his inability to control himself and his desire for pleasure and his feelings of powerlessness. And most times it wasn't a lack of self-control, in fact most times he was very very in control of himself. He knew that made him a bad person, but he didn't care.

No, the reason Offender was lonely was because he hurt everyone, not just when he wanted to, but when he didn't, especially when he didn't. See it was one thing to have a contract with a person with the details all written out in his blood, because he ripped it out of his own body, that said in neat words, 'I do what I want with you and then you can leave.' The roses made things so simple, he didn't have to do any work for it. He hated them of course, they caused him unimaginable amounts of suffering constantly, but the contract was simple enough. It was the people who didn't get roses that he seemed to hurt more than he intended to. He knew that people had boundaries, he knew where the lines were, it only made overstepping them more tempting. Something in his programming demanded he have everything, nothing was good enough, above all else he wanted what he couldn't have. It was only logical that the things he couldn't have were the people he didn't want to hurt, because he knew how often he broke things, he knew that the rot inside him was contagious and it spread whenever he touched people.

It was fascinating in a way, watching people rot from the inside out. Watching them destroy themselves over and over in attempts to make it stop. It didn't stop, it just spread. People could spread it too, it just so happened that the ones suffering often put forth that suffering to others, not always in the way it was inflicted on them, but the rot finds ways to spread.

Sometimes Offender found himself wondering how long the rot takes to completely engulf a person, to rot right through their skin, to show everyone how tainted and broken and festering they were. Sometimes it took a very long time, sometimes it happened all at once, sometimes it never did, everyone rots differently. Like decaying bodies laying in the sun next to bodies buried under ground. Living humans rot as an individual. From time to time he finds someone who is already rotting, rotting from something that wasn't him, lots of things could make people start rotting, make them turn black and grey from the inside out. Sometimes, if he had another option, he left the rotting ones alone…

"What are you thinking about so intently? Your face is going to get stuck like that." Chirped the young woman beside him.

Offender glanced over at her, "I'm thinking about broken things."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, things break all the time. And sometimes they break and you can't fix them, they stay broken forever. People try to fix things a lot, because they get attached to things, I think of kintsugi, a Japanese term, for putting pottery back together with gold. People think broken things are pretty and unique and special, or that they are sentimental, or important. But sometimes broken things are ugly, they have jagged edges like glass and they can't just be put back together with gold and made prettier again, they are just useless and broken. They aren't special, they're just broken…"

The woman reached over and sat her hand on his arm, "I don't think you're broken, and even if you are, maybe that's okay."

Offender sighed, "It would be one thing if I was broken, it's another thing that I break everything I touch…"

"Do you think I'm broken?"

"I know you're broken. I can hear you crying at night."

She went silent next him, but she didn't take her hand away. She looked down at the table, "Maybe I am broken, maybe you broke me… but, I don't think that matters." She said softly. "If I spent all my time worrying over being broken then I'd certainly be broken, but I don't feel broken with you." She looked up at him through her long lashes, the ghost of a smile on her lips.

~~~

It was warm outside on the beach, the sun glaring off the water, the sand sparkling. Offender was sitting on a towel with a book in his lap, watching the boys make sand castles. This time, they had put on sunscreen.

Alex had joined Jay in his bravery and left his shirt on his towel, but all the boys were wearing swimming trunks today. They were having fun, running back and forth from the water, splashing each other like children, enjoying their time at the beach. It was nice to watch and reminisce on time that had passed.

Offender was still dressed, despite how he too would like to shed layers under the sun, but he was determined to be very good for his boys. So he was just watching for now, even as he itched to join the fun. Never had he been at the beach so long without getting in the water, but he knew that was because there would be a lot of arguing should he try and take off his coat. 

It isn't his fault that clothes made him uncomfortable, made his skin itch, made his whole body start buzzing like angry bees. It wasn't that he was allergic to any material, as his coat was just fine and he'd had several of varying fabrics. He assumed it was just one of those unspoken rules of the curse, that he wasn't allowed to cause interference, just something to make his life more difficult for no reason at all.

So the coat stayed on and Offender stayed on his towel with his book not bothering the boys. Except for the staring, he was sure the staring was a little bothersome, but either he sat over here and stared or he was going to be handsy. No one liked him being handsy. So Offender was allowed to sit and stare, and think. He did a lot of thinking while watching the boys have fun. Thinking about how it was hot out and his back was sweaty, thinking about how he'd never read this book but he kept flipping pages to pretend he was reading, thinking about how he really wanted to do something with his hands to stop feeling like a voyeur.

He lit a cigarette. Sighing as the chemicals and poisons flooded into his body as he inhaled smoke. It was calming, made him feel less itchy, less needy, it dulled the hunger pains that he indulged in. He was hungry, and while he'd indulged in pleasure food, he hadn't eaten in days. But eating was difficult with Tim, because Tim was so picky about feeding him it made eating at all difficult, they were so closely tied together because of the Proxy bond. Offender knew that it wasn't good for anyone if he was hungry, he could only get worse for not eating. He was trying to behave, but his urges were becoming harder to ignore as his insides gnawed at him to eat. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin this trip, but he had to eat something or he'd certainly ruin it.

"You aren't reading that."

Offender pulled his head out of his stomach for a moment and looked up at Brian. "No, I'm not." He agreed.

"Why are you bothering to pretend then?" He asked.

"It's for you boys more than me, I can at least pretend like I'm not watching you like you're meat." The monster closed his book, setting his elbows on his knees.

Brain put his hands on his hips, his hair plastered down to his forehead and neck with water, his shirt sticking to his skin. "You're doing a bad job anyway, and Tim wants you to stop thinking about eating him, it's making him uncomfortable." 

Offender blushed, "Oh, whoops, I should probably, you know, go-" he said, getting to his feet.

"Yeah, bye." Brian rolled his eyes and walked back to the others.

The monster disappeared from the cove, hopefully to go eat.

~~~

Josephine was sitting on the bed when he got there, kicking her feet over the edge, "You're not planning on being bad, are you?" She teased him.

"Of course not, I'm behaving. I'm just eating." Offender scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

The woman looked around, "It kinda looks like you're planning to jump someone when they get home."

He bristled in response, "I'm not, I'm just going to eat them. I'm not doing anything else."

"Oh because you went out and got drunk last night, you took care of all that then, didn't you?" She accused with a grin.

Offender bared his teeth, "Why are you acting like this- what's wrong with you!?" He hissed.

The woman just smiled at him, "Now, what did I tell you about flashing your teeth around to get your way?"

Slowly Offender shut his mouth and dropped his shoulders, "Fine, okay, I'm not being very well behaved…" he muttered and sat down on the bed that belonged to a stranger. 

"Well I know that, you never are." The woman reached over and pat his arm. "You're hurting, aren't you?"

"I'm always hurting."

"That doesn't mean you aren't hurting though. You've been very good these last few days, I'd help you if I could, but you can help yourself a little."

"Tim is going to be disappointed in me, he's always disappointed in me." The monster sighed heavily.

The woman leaned her head against his arm, "He doesn't understand like I do… He just doesn't know any better."

"He knows plenty, it just doesn't matter to him. He's right to think like that, that I shouldn't hurt people to make me feel better."

"But if you don't then you'll hurt your friends. Isn't it better to hurt strangers? Tim lets you hurt bad people, maybe this is just another bad person."

Offender put his head in his hands, "I know you're trying to be helpful, but I think you're just making me confused, my darling…"

She smiled, "I always liked it when you called me 'darling', makes me feel special. Do you need help making a decision?"

"Yes."

The woman put a hand on his face, making him look at her and she kissed him softly, "You're hungry, you're hurting, it's okay if you want to feel better for a little while… I won't tell."

"Darling…" he murmured, leaning closer, but she was gone when the lock clicked open.

~~~

Making dinner was fun, Offender convinced the boys to help him, and they were making something fresh and new with a lot of local products. It was nice, helping the boys make something, he was never really the teacher type, but cooking was something he loved. He was careful about where his hands and tendrils were, it was easier to be mindful now that his insides weren't revolting against him. Just being allowed to partake in the evening's activity sparked warmth in him, everything was civil and fun, no arguments or glares or anyone being angry at him for something he did wrong. He enjoyed the casual touches, he was a very touch starved person, despite what people might think. It had been ages, or well, eighteen years more specifically since he'd really just had a snuggle partner. Sure there were a few times in there where he got away with holding Tim and curling up around him protectively, but they had gotten fewer and fewer, especially after Tim moved in with Brian.

Offender was mildly annoyed that it was so easy for Brian to convince Tim that he hated him. Tim didn't hate him before Brian. Sure Tim was anxious about him, angry with him, but he still let him sit on his bed when he was a teenager, let him take him on dates, let him touch him, casually. But then Brian ruined everything, Offender wished he never encouraged Tim to go out with him. See, Offender thought if Tim went out with a guy and maybe got laid it'd be way easier to sleep with him, but he didn't account for them to actually be close and then start dating, and then Tim started telling Brian about him which made everything more complicated.

It was hard for Offender to actually be mad at Brian for it, he had attacked him and tried to kill him a few times, so Brian's hatred of him was totally justified. Brian had also sorta quieted down after their chat about Tim. The good thing about Brian was he cared about Tim, in his mind he was doing this to protect Tim. He didn't account for the whole soul sharing thing when this started, which caused their fighting to put the brunt of the strain on Tim. Tim knew he was bonded with Offender forever, and no matter how much Brian hates Offender, there is nothing they could do about it.

Technically that was true, but also not entirely.

See there isn't anything that could _externally_ break the Proxy bond. But, Slenders can release Proxies from service. If Offender wanted, he could remove himself from Tim, he could let him go. The only problem was without him not only was he alone, but he was worse.

Proxies have an important function to all Slenders, but Offender learned to use his Proxies for a very specific function. Self-control. Offender was compelled to make split second decisions, about what he was eating, what he was doing, where he was going, etc because most of his brain power was dedicated to the constant pain he was in and functioning with it. So Offender didn't have the control that most Slenders did, so he learned to use his Proxies. He found out that through their link he could send his thoughts down the line and get a 'yay or 'nay' basically from their subconscious. This made it much easier for him to make complex decisions, and to contain himself as he didn't need to question himself on the matter any more.

This was a perfect system, until the person he was asking things was Tim. It was easy to get answers from his previous Proxies, at least they gave him a leash, but with Tim it felt like he was being constantly held around the collar a little too tight.

Offender sighed, where had the time gone? He was just cooking dinner and now he was sitting on the couch, there was a movie playing. He stood up, walking out to the back door, he sat down on the steps and lit a cigarette. He leaned back on one hand and stared out at the water, it was quiet out here.

The door opened behind him and a soft hand touched his shoulder, "Josephine?"

The hand pulled back sharply, "No."

Offender looked back at Tim almost like he was confused, "Oh…"

Tim sat down beside him carefully, "Are you okay?"

"I don't think so." He said truthfully.

Tim looked out at the water then up at the sky, "Why did you bring us out here?" He asked quietly. "I mean, it's been nice enough, the house is nice, the beach is great, you're cooking is always good, but you've just been acting weird lately and nothing good ever happens when you start acting weird."

The monster looked over then away again. "I haven't been here in years… the last time I was here with Josephine, Rosa hadn't been born. But I had a dream about her, Josephine, in the bedroom of this house, she wanted to go down to the beach.. I thought maybe, maybe it might help me get rid of her ghost if I did that for her. And I thought it would be easier if I brought you all along with me."

"I guess it hasn't worked, has it?"

"Not a bit."

"You ever gonna tell me what happened to her?" Tim asked, purposefully not looking at him.

A pit formed in the stomach of the beast, like he had swallowed a stone. "Another time." He said, "No need to bring more ghosts into this weekend."

"You know… I heard you.. talking to her. The other night. You don't, you don't actually think you're talking to her, do you?"

"Josephine has been dead for more than twenty years now. I don't talk to her, I just… use her to collect my thoughts." He knows it doesn't sound right coming out of his mouth, like he doesn't believe his own words when he says them. Looking out at the water he can see her, standing on the edge of the waves. She wasn't looking at him. Her clothes were stained red.

"Do you really miss her so much?" Tim asked him.

Offender kept watching her, "She was the only person who ever believed that I wasn't a monster… she said that I could change."

"I guess she was wrong."

"Maybe she was," he sighed heavily, "but she was.. kind to me, despite everything I had done to deserve her anger. Josephine was gentle with me in ways I have never known and will never know again… She was everything to me… and now I feel haunted by her memory, there isn't anything I can do to make her leave."

"You know I'll never be Josie. I think you are a monster."

"Josephine was my perfect storm. I do not think I could replicate our bond with anyone else. She was the closest I have ever come to saying... 'I love you'. I don't love anything. I almost wanted to, for her."

Offender saw Tim reach out his hand towards him from the corner of his eye before taking it back, "Why?"

"Because she loved me first."

"I feel sorry for her if you were the person she decided on." Tim scoffed.

It made Offender laugh, "Yeah, I think she was completely insane. But it looked really good on her. She was pretty like that."

Tim nodded, "I've seen the picture you keep in your wallet."

"You know, I think you're pretty too, right?" Offender asked, finally looking away from the dripping red vision on the water, "Not like, the feminine, small, soft kind of pretty that Josephine was, but… you are so giving and genuine, you are strong and brave and you care so deeply about others…"

Tim shifted uncomfortably where he sat and stood up quickly, "Look, I just came out to tell you the movie was over and we were going to bed…" he muttered.

Offender turned his face away from him, "Good night then." Before Tim got to the door he spoke again, "I'm sorry."

Tim stopped at the door, then the door opened and shut behind him.

~~~

He left his boots and coat by the door and walked down the beach without them. At least he could get in the water once before they left, tomorrow was the last day of their weekend after all.

It wasn't dark, the moon was too bright for it to be dark, and it was warm. The waves were calm as he stepped onto the sand and stretched, he glanced back up at the house then stepped into the water.

There was something about swimming at night that was cathartic. Looking up at the moon through the water, listening to the calm. It felt peaceful. Offender hadn't had a moments peace in his life, but this was close enough. After some time he sat on the shore and just let the waves wash over him, he probably could have fallen asleep there if he didn't hear footsteps.

"Brian, I don't know if this is a good idea…" 

Offender looked back towards the house and quickly made himself scarce.

"It's fine, besides, everyone is asleep, it's just us right now, you were the one who wanted to go night swimming." Brian laughed softly.

The monster was sitting in a dark patch of the cove, as the two men walked down the steps holding towels. He knew he should leave but, he didn't move from his hiding place.

"Yeah, I know, I'm just anxious…" Tim was quiet for a moment, "Maybe you can help me calm my nerves."

Offender knew that tone. He knew he should leave, staying was a bad idea. He couldn't be bad, he had to behave. It would be so easy to just teleport back into his room, he could shower and go to bed. He shouldn't stay, but he didn't move. He should, but he didn't. He just kept watching, like the fucking voyeur he was. What was wrong with him? Why was he like this? Why couldn't he be better? Why can't he change? Why did he ever let that thought in his brain that he could try harder when he never did.

"Why don't you come back to bed with me? Will that help you leave them alone?"

Offender wrenched his gaze away from the pair by the water and looked over at the woman beside him.

"If you need a little help to be better, let me help you." She said softly, touching the side of his face to keep him from looking back at them.

For once in his life, he managed to listen to reason.

Water rained over him as he sat in the bath, it was too small for him to be comfortable but he was sitting anyway. The water was too hot, but it felt good that way, as he rested his chin on top of Josephine's head, holding her in his lap. What was it about this image that made him keep returning to it? Why did he let this woman under his skin so deeply that twenty years after she died he still fantasized about holding her? How was it that he could picture her so perfectly it was as if she was right there, even though he knew better. Why did he do this to himself…

"I'm only here because you want me to be." She said softly, leaning against his chest. "I could be anyone, you're the one who chose me."

"How could I have resisted you? Your youth and vibrancy begged for my attention, I needed you from the first moment I ever saw you." Offender purred back to her.

"You make it sound so romantic, you were just horny." She snorted.

Offender scoffed, "I'm a poet, let me have my pretty words for desire. Besides, you were the one in love with me."

Josephine looked up at him, "Can you really say you didn't love me when you cling to me like this?"

"I don't love things, my darling, I can't, I wasn't made to."

"Then why do you keep coming back to me? I could be anyone, but you choose me every time. You dream of me, cry for me, you rage at the thought that I was taken from you… what else would you call that?" She asked softly, touching his face gently, looking up at him with eyes like endless wilderness.

Offender stared at her, his hands holding onto her tighter, "You're bleeding…"

"You're guilty."

"I didn't mean to,"

"It didn't matter."

"Why can't I get over you?"

There was no response. She smiled, looking up at him. 

He sighed, she couldn't answer him, because he didn't know…

~~~

The beach was warm, the sun casting over the morning waves, it was their last day and so the boys wanted to swim early. Offender was laying half asleep on the sand, an arm thrown over his face, he didn't sleep much last night. The boys were splashing around and having a good time ignoring him, so he didn't bother them, he just dozed. He was enjoying fading in and out of consciousness, entirely relaxed despite the happenings last night, until he heard a few muffled laughs. Offender was going to lift his arm to see what exactly was going on, but he was then completely drenched in cold salt water. He jerked up, sputtering, the top half of his coat was soaked and sand was sticking to him all over. Looking up he saw Tim dart away from him back to the water. For a few moments he was left speechless before he appeared right behind Tim, picked him up and tossed him back into the water.

Tim's shriek was cut off when he went under but when he popped back up, Alex and Jay bust out laughing.

"Oh my god, you fucking screamed!"

"I can't believe you didn't see that coming!" Alex snorted, leaning against Jay in the water.

Offender felt a bit smug as Tim pouted, but he knew he wasn't really angry. He turned to go back to his spot on the beach only to be shoved and dragged back down into the water with the help of a stronger wave and three of the four men. He yelped as he went down, landing on his ass and spitting out water.

He was flustered and didn't know what exactly happened but then Tim started laughing and Brian started laughing, it felt like the mood of the whole trip shifted in one moment, his coat was soaked, but he started laughing too.

Offender was truly ecstatic that he was given the opportunity to play with his boys. Sure his coat was heavy in the water and it would suck to wash it but this was as much fun as he was going to have with his boys. He happily tossed them around in the water, was tackled and teleported around with them. It was amazing, it was perfect, he couldn't imagine a better ending to this trip than just being care free, being accepted for just a moment.

When they finished playing they all washed up and Offender took them into town for lunch before they had to leave, he was very happy he packed an extra coat too. They all talked about the trip and buying last minute souvenirs before they returned to the house to pack.

As Offender was putting his things back in his suitcase there was a knock at his door, he looked up to see Tim standing there, "You need something?" He asked.

Tim kinda shrugged as he walked in, "No I just, wanted to thank you for bringing us out here."

Offender turned his head in confusion, as if asking the man to elaborate.

"I mean, you didn't need to, and even then you have been, really nice. The house is wonderful, the beach was perfect, none of us can really turn down your cooking, and on top of it all, you were just… really nice. So I wanted to thank you."

"You don't need to thank me, I had a nice time. I'm glad you all let me drag you out here." He purred.

Tim nodded and walked over to Offender who was kneeling on the floor over his suitcase trying to stuff everything back in it without folding everything again. The man glanced back at the door and he was about to ask what Tim was doing when he grabbed his chin and kissed him. It happened far too fast for Offender to actually respond to it, but Tim was bright red when he pulled back to look at him. "You better not expect me to do that again, it was only because you were good this weekend." Tim said firmly.

Offender kind of felt like a dog being given a treat, but he grinned anyway, as he adored getting affection from his Proxies. "I understand,"

"And you better not tell Brian or I will stab you in the balls-" Tim hissed at him, right back to normal.

Offender made a zipping motion over his mouth, letting it seal over which seemed like enough for Tim who then left the room.

The boys were waiting on him in the living room, like a mock up of when he first picked them up. He stood behind Tim and held onto the boys with his tendrils, warning them to shut their eyes. When everyone's eyes were shut he looked up one more time to see Josephine standing in the doorway to the beach.

"I'm going swimming okay?" She said with a smile.

Offender nodded.

"You did good." She waved goodbye as Offender teleported himself and the boys back to Tim and Brian's apartment.

The last thing he saw in that was her. It made him want to start all over.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if I need to tag anything else.


End file.
